Understanding the Self

Module 7 The Self in Western and Eastern

Thoughts
At the end of this module, you are expected t0:
1. Differentiate the concept of self-according to Western thought against
Eastern/Oriental perspectives;
2. Explain the concept self as found in Asian thoughts; and

The Self in Western and Eastern Thoughts

Different cultures and varying environment tend to create different

perceptions of the “self” and one of the most common distinctions between
cultures and people is the Eastern vs. Western dichotomy wherein Eastern
represents Asia and Western represents Europe and Northern America.

In this lesson, we will look at religious beliefs and political philosophies that
greatly influenced the mindset of each nation or culture. Since almost all the
theories about the self, which were discussed in the previous lessons, also
came from the western scientific research, we will highlight the Eastern
thoughts in this lesson.
Confucianism
 can be seen as a code of ethical conduct, of how should properly act
according to their relationship with other people; thus it is also focused
on having a harmonious social life (Ho 1995).
Taoism
 is living in the way of the Tao or the universe. However, Taoism rejects
having one definition of what the Tao is, and one can only state clues of
what is they adopt a free-flowing, relative, unitary, as well as paradoxical
view of almost everything.
Buddhism
 The self is seen as an illusion, born out of ignorance, of trying to hold and
control things, or human centered needs; thus the self is also the source
of all these sufferings.

The self or the individual is not the focus of the abovementioned Asian or
Eastern philosophies or beliefs. Even with extended discussions about how
the self should work, Confucianism and Taoism still situate the self within a
Course Module
 bigger context. In striving to become a better person, one does not create a
self above other people or nature but a self that is beneficial to his
community as well as its order and harmony with everything else. As for
Buddhism, the self, with all its connections and selfish ideas, is taken not just
out the center of the picture, but from the whole picture entirely.
The western culture is what we would call an individualistic culture since
their focus is on the person. Asian culture, on the other hand, is called a
collectivistic culture as the group and social relations that is given more
importance than individual needs and wants.
By valuing the individual, Westerners may seem to have loose associations
or even loyalty to their groups. Competition is the name of the game and they
are more likely straightforward and forceful in their communication as well
as decision making.
Eastern or Oriental persons look after the welfare of their groups and values
cooperation. They would also be more compromising and they tend to go
around the bush in explaining things, hoping that the other person would
“feel” what they want to say (Qingxue 2003).
Westerns also emphasize more on the value of equality even if they
see that the individual can rise above everything else. Because everyone is on
their own in the competition, one can say that they also promote ideals that
create “fair” competition and protect the individual. Asian’s with their
collectivistic culture, put more emphasis on hierarchy as the culture wants to
keep things in harmony and order (Qingxue 2003). For example, Westerns
would most likely call their bosses, parents or other seniors by their first
name. The boss can also be approached head-on when conflicts or problems
about him arises. For Asian’s we have respectful terms for our seniors and a
lot of workers would not dare go against the high-ranking officials (Qingxue
2003).
It must be emphasized, however that these are general commonalities
among Western culture as compared to Asian or Oriental cultures. In the case
of the Philippines, we can also consider the colonization experience for
differences and similarities with our Asian neighbors. We might also find
variation among provinces and regions due to geographical conditions.

References and Supplementary Materials

1. Gleitman,Henry, James Gross and Daniel Reisberg.2011.Psychology.8th Ed.

Canada: W.W. Norton and Company.

2. Eden Joy Pastor Alata,Bernardo Nicolas Caslib,Jr.2018.Understanding the

Self.1st Ed. Rexstore